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Home , Calling of the disciples, Fishers of men

Christ’s Disciples

The Official Calling of the Disciples which reveals the circumstantial background to the moment He saw Simon and Andrew. Apparently :18-22; :16-20 He was on His way somewhere else, perhaps from Christ has now moved to , which will Nazareth to Capernaum. become His headquarters. Matthew would later He saw the two brothers, as they were casting a net call this city ’ own. in the sea, for the purpose of fishing. Now Christ has already had an impact on these four disciples; they have come to believe through So Christ gave them a command - DEUTE OPISO ’s ministry, and through Christ’s MOU - literally translated, ’come after me.” Both word. accounts agree to the exact wording. But it is time for Christ to put His disciples to the Principle: This is the inspired retelling of this event. work of the Lord, so he put them on recall. It is more probable that Christ spoke this command in Aramaic, the language of the day for the region. Matthew 4:18-22: “And walking by the Sea of But, when two writers agree on the exact , He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Greek translation, you can rest assured that the Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into spirit of the Aramaic has been captured, without the sea; for they were fisherman. And He said to any loss of meaning. them, ‘Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ And immediately leaving the nets, and fol- When two or more gospel writers disagree on the lowed Him. And going on from there He saw two exact Greek translation, then the multiple accounts other brothers, James the son of , and John must harmonize to bring full meaning. The differ- his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, ences are the work of God the Holy Spirit as well, mending their nets; and He called them. And they and they make the narrative better, not worse. immediately left the boat and their father, and fol- The second half of Christ’s words of recall to His lowed Him.” disciples has to do with their mission. They are Mark 1:16-20: “And as He was passing through going to be fishers of men. by the , He saw Simon and An- Mark adds one note to the account of Matthew, and drew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the that is the word GENESTHAI. This is the aorist sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to middle infinite of the deponent verb GINOMAI, ‘to them,”Come after Me, and I will make you be- become.’ come fishers of men.” And immediately leaving the nets, they followed Him . And going on a little far- Mark’s meaning is a little more graphic as to the ther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John nature of their transformation. It concentrates on his brother, who were also in the boat [with oth- function, and not quality. ers] mending the nets. And immediately He called The aorist tense tells us that the transformation them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat from fishermen to fishers of men will be immediate. with the hired servants, and went away to follow In other words, they will make the switch immedi- Him.” ately. Second, there is no mention of quality here; Both writers agree completely with the details of they may have been crummy at first. the calling of Simon and Andrew. But remember, Christ had given them intensive Christ was walking, passing through by the shore training just a few months before, when they down of the sea of Galilee, just as we left Him in . by the river Jordan. They would have had some It is the adverbial present participle, PARAGON, frame of reference for what they were about to do.

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The disciples’ response is immediate and sure - leav- The tax collectors made their living by inflating the ing their nets they followed Him. The adverb of Roman taxes. They essentially worked on commis- time EUTHUS leaves no question as to their obe- sion. dience. Tax collectors were wealthy, but hated by their These men already had built up a certain amount own society. They had to live with a tremendous of trust in Christ. They were believers in Him, and amount of prejudice. had begun to know Him. Because of this prejudice their social options were Their nets were left right where they lay, and their severely limited. They could only socialize with boats, and their families. others who were outcasts. The calling of the second pair of disciples runs very It was easy for Matthew to follow Christ, consid- much the same as the first. ering his personal circumstances. Social isolation does not make it easy to enjoy personal wealth. This time, Christ just ‘calls’ them. The implication No doubt he knew of the supernatural essence of is that His words are the same as those that went Christ’s ministry, and he may have even heard Him out to Andrew and Peter. speak. It is often the outcast that finds it easiest They too follow immediately. to follow Christ. These four are the only ones mentioned in the nar- Matthew is a rich man who defied the odds. rative, and so are likely the only ones with Him Remember Matthew if you are an outcast. during this time. It would be only a short while until the call of Matthew, and a little more time John Boanerges until the twelve are officially appointed. Cousin “according to the flesh” of Jesus Christ. The Disciples Brother of James (not the epistle writer). A native of Galilee. John’s mother Salome was a follower of Matthew Jesus, and ministered to Him of her own means. God used an outcast. His name is a transliteration John was a fisherman of the Sea of Galilee, his life of the Aramaic word which means gift of God. was hard work, but apparently it had paid off for his In his own Gospel, Matthew uses his regular name. family, because they had servants, and were able to In other , the name Levi is used. It is likely support the Christ. Galilee was a that Matthew became his name after his conver- region somewhat analogous to the U.S. South not sion. too long ago. It is conservative to a fault, and more than a little rebellious in character. The fires Matthew was a Jewish tax collector. It is likely of rebellion flamed openly in this region. In reality that he was fairly well off financially because of his a lot of senseless violence took place in the name profession. This makes his decision to follow Christ of the zealot movement, but there was very little all the more remarkable, because he left it all be- virtue. This time was somewhat analogous to that hind - Lk 5:28. It is likely that he worked at the of Northern Ireland today. toll house in Capernaum. Great humility - When he decided to follow our Lord, he threw a When John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Mes- big party, and invited all his friends. His decision siah, John follows without delay. to follow Christ was immediate. Never mentions own name in own Gospel. As a tax collector, Matthew was an outcast in Jew- ish society. He apparently had no friends who were Nicknamed, with brother James as the “Sons of devout in the Jewish faith for at his party there Thunder”, a reference to their manner in Word and were only other tax collectors and sinners. Deed, Mk 3:17. It is likely that they had a fair amount of Zealot ideals in their heads. The Roman tax collectors were hated by the Jews because the Roman taxes were in addition to the Outspoken about his faith from the start. Jewish taxes. “The whom Jesus loved” - was the closest They were also hated because they represented the to Jesus of the inner circle of Peter, James, and occupying forces of the Roman Empire. John.

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Was the only eyewitness to the cross among the dis- Such a project would have placed the Messiah on ciples, and he was eyewitness to the resurrection, equal footing with the two prophets. John 20. Such a project hinted at the necessity for these One of the “Pillars of the Church”, Gal 2:9. Paul three to grow spiritually when all three were in a had a high regard for him. completed state. Took over as chief of Apostles some time in the late In other words, Peter fails to think rationally before 70’s. he speaks. Did not start writing until late in life. At Christ’s prediction of Peter’s denial, Matt 26:35. Peter replies, “Even if I have to die with You, I His writing reflects the 50+ years of careful thought will not deny you.” (All the disciples said the same about the life of Christ and the Christian life. thing too). Under his ministry, Ephesus became the center of Peter is the instigator here. All the disciples follow the pivot which gave the Roman Empire its great- his heroic statement. est time of prosperity under the Antonine Caesars, 98-180 A.D. All the disciples follow in Peter’s denial, as well. John 21:15-17records Peter’s recovery before He used very basic Greek grammar to express in- Christ, after the resurrection, “So when they had credibly deep theological ideas. finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Si- He was the key figure in the transition from the mon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ pre-canon period to the post canon period. He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said Peter to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, Peter’s name was also Simon. The testimony of do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes Lord; You Peter always stands behind the writing of Mark in know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd this epistle. my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved Overview: Peter is enthusiastic, emotional, swift because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you to speak without thinking, full of love and anger, love me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know sometimes legalistic and snobbish, and Jewish in all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to a prejudicial way. He is one of the independent, him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ rebellious Galileans. He loves Christ so much, yet he cannot muster the spiritual resources to remain Peter is still feeling guilt over his denial of Christ at with Him in His arrest, trial, and death. He is the this time, several days after Christ’s resurrection. second to the tomb on the third day, and enters Note that Peter does not blame himself for his fail- first, but did not believe what he saw. ure, but Christ. He is projecting his failure onto He is the first of the disciples to see Christ after God. the resurrection. He is unsure of his standing with Christ asks Peter if he has agape love for him, and Christ immediately after the resurrection. Peter the answer is no. Only phileo love - friendship. Pe- is a leader and very much a preacher, though not ter does not feel worthy enough, and so he describes careful about what he says. He makes mistakes, he his love as friendship. broods, and then he seeks and needs forgiveness in a desperate emotional way. In the end, he writes Though Christ commands Peter to feed his sheep, two epistles about suffering, and speaks his remem- Peter does not feel qualified to do so, because he is brances of Christ in a brief, but humble manner. only a friend of Christ. If there is one character trait of Peter which rises The second round is identical to the first. above all others, it is his emotionalism. Peter of- The third round is significant: it is Peter’s second ten let his emotions rule his thinking, much to his threefold denial of Christ. detriment and regret. Peter’s grief is founded on Christ’s use of the word At the transfiguration of Christ, Peter emotionally phileo the third time. In essence Christ says, “Do desires to build tabernacles for Christ, Moses, and you even like me?’ This because of the silence after Elijah. He was not thinking. Mat 17:4. the second command to tend His sheep.

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Again, the command of Christ to feed his sheep. However, before John ever became famous, there was James, who was always mentioned first among Christ then predicts the kind of death Peter will the two brothers, the sons of Zebedee. This can be die, and it is not what one would consider pleas- because he was older, or because he was the more ant. He concludes the prediction with a command prominent of the two at the time. - ’Follow me!” James was one of the inner circle of three along Peter is momentarily distracted by John, who was with Peter and John. Only they were present at following them down the beach. the following events. Christ cuts to the chase. ‘Follow Me’ is repeated, The raising of Jairus’ daughter, Mk 8:51; :37. and that is the end of the story. The transfiguration, Mat 17:1; Mk 9:2; :28. In your life, cut to the chase. Follow Christ. No ex- cuses. No distractions. Get your eyes off of others, The garden of Gethsemane, Mt. 26:37; Mk 14:33. and follow Christ. The , Mk 13:3. Peter is an early leader in the church, but fades Strangely, he is missing at the tomb on resurrection from the limelight in about 50 A.D. Nothing is morning. This will always remain a mystery. heard from him until he writes his epistles in the early 60’s, and then dictates his gospel story to James was the first of the true twelve to die for his Mark in the mid-60’s. faith ( does not count for obvious rea- sons). Acts 12:2 records that Herod Agrippa had Peter wavered on the question of Gentiles and the him put to death with the sword. church. In Acts 10, he receives direct guidance from This martyrdom may have been part of the impe- the Lord on the subject of whether Gentiles should tus for John’s late ministry, because it is only after be allowed in the church. He responds positively, this that John begins to rev up his engines. but just a few years later, he has to be rebuked by Paul on the very same subject. Andrew, Simon’s brother Gal 2:11-14 contains that rebuke. “But when Andrew is properly the first disciple of Christ. This Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his is perhaps the most significant fact of his life. His face, because he stood condemned. For prior to brother Simon and business partners James and the coming of certain men from James, he used John followed his lead. to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he This places him as a leader, though quiet, because began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing he really is not prominent like Peter, James, and the party of the circumcision. And the rest of the John. Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even was carried away by their hypocrisy. Andrew goes to lead his brother Simon Peter to the But when I saw that they were not straightforward Messiah after hearing John the Baptist point the about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in way. :40-42 the presence of all, ’If you, being a Jew, live like After his original call to discipleship, Andrew re- the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that turned to fishing. When John the Baptist was you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” placed into prison, Christ came back to Galilee, Probably the best analogy to Peter’s early charac- where He once again called Simon Peter and An- ter is a politician on the campaign trail. Always drew. Mk 1:14-18. promising, always in the limelight, but never fol- People ask him for advice at the feeding of the five lowing through. thousand, John 6:8. He is included in the inner But Peter recovers, and not long before his death circle at the Mt. of Olives during the last week of he writes the most marvelous gospel and two Epis- Christ’s life. tles. Philip James Boanerges Philip is from the hometown of Andrew and Pe- ter, . He is another of those conservative, What we know about James is mostly related to rebellious Galileans. his much more famous brother, John. Matt 4:21 communicates that they left the business and their There is one character trait that comes out again father behind to follow Christ. and again with Philip; he is practical. By this I

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mean that he is analytical, naturally a skeptic, and John knew the man’s real name, and the synop- keeps his feet firmly grounded on planet earth. tic authors did not. This may be true if he was just the guy from Ptolemais, but it seems unlikely, This turns out to be an advantage in evangelism. considering that he was with the disciples at the He naturally senses the protests that unbelievers resurrection and probably for the years in between, might make, and so simply says, ‘come and see’. unless ‘guy from Ptolemais’ was just a nickname. John 1:46. He describes Christ as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the distinction of a There was a legitimate reason for the synoptic writ- careful man. John 1:45. ers to keep the man’s real name hidden, but this reason was diminished or eradicated by the time This turns out to be a handicap in every day life that John wrote some ten or fifteen years later. with Christ. The Ptolemies were the royal family in Egypt, and At the feeding of the five thousand, Philip can only major players in the events following the death of see the practical side of things, and so he leaves out Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. and the building the possibility of a miracle, John 6:4-7. Christ asks of the Roman Empire. a rhetorical question and Philip gives Christ a non- The most famous of all the Ptolemies was none rhetorical, practical reply. He is more concerned other than Cleopatra of Egypt. with money than miracles. Ptolemy the 15th was the son of Cleopatra, and it At the , Christ tells his disciples that He is possible that this Bartholomew was in this line is God incarnate, and that a relationship with the of descent. Father comes through Him. Philip then expresses his desire to see the Father. Christ rebukes him by Bartholomew/Nathaniel exhibits an elitist attitude telling him again that He is the embodiment of the toward Nazareth that could come from being part father, John 14:6-11. of a royal family, or simply from a neighboring town. Philip is a good disciple to study for all the skeptics. He probably out-doubts Thomas. It is interesting to note that Christ says of Nathanael, “a real Israelite”. James Alphaeus But Nathanael Bartholomew is of Egyptian her- He is the cousin of Christ. His mother Mary is the itage - he could not be a genetic Jew. But Christ sister in law of Mary the mother of Christ. talks about his spiritual heritage as Paul would… that the true Jew is the one who believes in Him He is the father of Jude, the one who wrote the regardless of his genetic make up. epistle of Jude. Christ also comments that Nathanael is without His father is Cleopas, one of the men on the road guile, or cunning deceit. Another way to put it to . is that Nathaniel is very forthright; he says what Apart from this we know little, but it appears that he thinks. Nathanael is a straight-shooter with his he wielded much influence in his family, for they words, as he has just demonstrated with his com- seemed to all follow Christ. ment on Nazareth. Nathanael is possibly from a royal family. His Nathanael Bartholomew comment is one that a king would make about a This man may be a celebrity, or at least from a backward country town. But his opinion is honest famous family. and forthright. “Can any good thing come out of Arkansas?” Bartholomew is the name mentioned in the synop- tic gospels. This means ‘Son of Ptolemies” Since Nathaniel’s response to Christ’s statement is sur- this is only a last name it is not specific as to the prise and disbelief. “How do you know me?” actual person behind it. It also may be interpreted Christ responds, “Before Philip called you, when ’Son of Ptolemais’, a city on the North Coast of you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Palestine, not too far from Galilee. In modern par- lance, ‘the guy from Ptolemais’. We do not know what Nathanael was doing un- der the fig tree, but it was certainly related to his John uses Nathanael, the man’s first name. The forthright nature. There is not much that is espe- difference can be for the following reasons. cially supernatural here.

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On the basis of Christ’s simple statement, Thomas here shows a remarkable blindness to Je- Nathanael believes. It is now Christ’s turn to reg- sus’ discourse. ister surprise. He misses the point that Christ is making; that He On account of Nathaniel’s belief, Christ prophesies: is going to die. Thomas’ feet are still on terra firma, ‘You will see the heavens opened , and the of when they should be in heaven. God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’ He does not know where Christ goes, and therefore This is a reference to behind the scenes of prayer. he cannot know the way. At least he is honest. Taking the prayers to God, and returning the an- swers to man. However, this is a literal vision, and Christ’s reply is simple: “I am the way, and the so Nathanael will have the gift of seeing behind the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but scenes of prayer. through Me.” Thomas John 20:24-29. “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus This is the second of the doubters (see Phillip) came. The other disciples therefore were saying among the disciples, although all seem to fail, and to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to doubt is the seed of all failure. them, ‘Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint He was a twin, although his sibling is not men- of the nails, and put my finger into the place of tioned at all in the Bible. Thomas is the Aramaic the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will word for ‘twin’, and the Greek equivalent Didymus not believe.’ And after eight days again His dis- was placed alongside it three times in John’s gospel. ciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in John 11:14-16, “Then Jesus therefore said to their midst, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for he said to Thomas, ‘Reach here your finger, and your sakes that I was not there, so that you may see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put believe; but let us go to him.’ Thomas therefore, it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believ- who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, ing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him.’” and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have Thomas here displays a rather caustic sense of hu- seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who mor. did not see, and yet believed.’” Christ is present, yet Thomas says this to his fellow Judas the unknown, or Thaddeus, or Leb- disciples; it was spoken under his breath. baeus Verse 8 says that there was imminent danger in John 14:21-23 “He who has My commandments , Lazarus’ home town - that the disciples and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who and Christ would be stoned if they went there. loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.‘Judas Verse 16 reveals that Thomas was the kind of guy (not Iscariot) said to Him, ’Lord, what then has that would follow Christ unto to death, but not happened that You are going to disclose Yourself without getting his two cents in. to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me he will keep My The disciples are not mentioned in the event sur- word; and My Father will love him, and We will rounding Lazarus’ resuscitation, so they actually come to him, and make Our abode with him.’” may have been scared away by Thomas’ remark. This Judas is pretty astute. Here he wants to know John 14:1-5. “Let not your heart be troubled; be- the change. Why the disclosure? Why the ministry lieve in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s shift? house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place I found myself immediately wanting to hear more for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, from this man, and yet he remains silent. I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that Thaddeus or Lebbaeus means ‘breast’. This may where I am, there you may be also. And you know be a clue to this man’s affectionate or endearing the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, nature, but such is only speculation. “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?”

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More often called the Canaanite, which means returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief zealot. We know nothing more about him. priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betray- ing innocent blood.’ But they said, ’What is that to The Zealots were almost purely a political party. us? See to that yourself! And he threw the pieces They called for the violent overthrow of the Roman of silver into the sanctuary and departed and he rule. went away and hanged himself.” They carried on the tradition of the Maccabees - Judas identifies Christ as honorable blood - one not they were militant, and full of zeal and purpose. worthy of betrayal. They were the cause of the Jewish wars and the Judas has a change of feeling. He now cares about destruction of . what he has done. Before he was callused and un- They fought with complete fanaticism to the very caring. Now he does, but it is too late. end. They were extremely patriotic, but not many Judas still views his betrayal as permanent, and were Godly. kills himself before the resurrection. They took their patriotism to great excess, and It is difficult to discern from this whether Judas vowed to strike down all the enemies of Israel. was a believer. Although they were politically correct (not in the Judas makes a really weak attempt at reparation modern sense), they were morally wrong, and in by attempting to give the money back. Perhaps this they were most similar to the southern U.S. in he had hoped to have Christ set free on account of the early 1800’s. this, but it utterly failed. Judas Iscariot, the Traitor Luke puts the right end to the story in Acts 1:15- All four of the gospels reveal before the fact that 18. “And at this time Peter stood up in the midst Judas will betray Jesus Christ, Matt 10:4; Mk 8:19; of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred :15; John 6:71. and twenty persons was there together) and said, ’Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which Luke and John portray him as under the immediate the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of con- direction of Satan Himself, :3; John 13:27. cerning Judas, who became a guide to those who There is little question from the latter verse that arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us, and this man became demon possessed by Satan. received his portion in this ministry.” Now this He was the group treasurer, a position that would man acquired a field with the price of his wicked- have been given to a trustworthy person. John 12:4- ness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the 7, But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it be- intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this per- came known to all who were living in Jerusalem; fume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given so that in their own language that field was called to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he Aceldama, that is, Field of Blood). was concerned about the poor, but because he was Judas’ body split open because it had been dead. a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to This was the perfect contrast to Christ’s death. pilfer what was put into it. Jesus therefore said, “let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the The betrayal of Judas is very well documented by day of My Burial.” Old Testament prophecy. It was for this same money-grubbing motivation Many women followed Jesus Christ. The reason that Judas betrayed our Lord, and yet 30 pieces of is simple: In a society where women were treated silver was not very much money. His greed must as unimportant, unclean, and generally inferior, have been great indeed. Christ treated them with respect, and placed them on equal spiritual footing as men. As a result, Judas was so trustworthy that even when our Lord Christ gained many women followers who were in implicated Him before the betrayal, many of the many ways more valuable than even His closest dis- disciples did not believe Him, John 13:28-29. ciples. And yet at the last the scales fall from Judas’ eyes Salome. Mk 15:40; 16:1. and he realizes what he has done. Matt 27:3-5, “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw She is the mother of James and John, the husband that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and of Zebedee; she is Mary, Jesus’ mother’s sister, and

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so the aunt of Jesus Christ. As we know from the next verse, 16:1, they found out this piece of information so that they could care Do not mistake Salome with the woman of the same for the body of Christ. Their motivation was pure, name who demanded John the Baptist’s head on a and these two ladies were doing the right thing for platter. the right reason. Mk 15:40-41, “And there were also some women If they had not found out the location of the tomb, looking on from a distance, among whom were then who knows how long it would have taken for , and Mary the mother of James them to locate it. the Less [Alphaeus] and Joses, and Salome. And when He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him She is the first witness to the evidence for the res- and minister to Him; and there were many other urrection, John 20:1-2, “Now on the first day of the women who had come up with Him to Jerusalem.” week Mary Magdalene came early to tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken These women followed Christ , the same verb away from the tomb. And so she ran and came to here that is used of the disciples’ following of Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus Christ. These women are never identified as disci- loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken away the ples proper, and yet they follow just as the disciples Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where do. they have laid Him.’” These women served Christ, the verb which is the Now, Mary saw the empty and the angels and heard basis for the spiritual gift of deacon. their declaration, but she misunderstood. She still Read :1-8 assumed the death of Christ. This occurs after the initial visit by Mary Magda- The ‘they’ here is a reference to the angels. lene, before sunrise. She goes and finds one of the disciples, and they They used the excuse of anointing Christ’s body treat her like Christ never did. They do not be- (which they intended to do anyway) for going to lieve her words, and so they decide that they better the tomb to investigate Mary’s claim. check things out for themselves. The women reported to the eleven disciples and Mary, the sister of and Lazarus the other followers of Jesus, but they did not tell :38-42tells us that Mary had her prior- any outsiders. This is the explanation for the final ities straight: “now as they were traveling along, verse. He entered a certain village; and a woman named Mary from Magdala Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to :1-3, “And it came about soon afterwards, the Lord’s word, seated at His feet. But Martha that He began going about from one city and village was distracted with all her preparations; and she to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom came up to Him, and said, ‘Lord, do You not care of God; and the twelve were with Him, and also that my sister has left me to do all the serving some women who had been healed of evil spirits and alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord an- sicknesses; Mary who was called Magdalene, from swered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the worried and bothered about so many things; but wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and only a few things are necessary, really only one, for many others who were contributing to their sup- Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be port out of their private means.” taken away from her.’” Here is the introduction to the Ladies’ auxiliary. This woman had her priorities right. Many women were supporting Christ’s ministry This was her great opportunity to listen to the from their own means - making sure that the word gospel from the Lord’s lips and she was not going was getting out. to miss it. Mk 15:47, “And Mary Magdalene and Mary the She chooses to set aside her responsibilities for the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He moment, and Christ vindicates her reasoning. was laid.” We choose our lifestyles. This is particularly astute, a key to everything that would follow. With lifestyle comes obligation and responsibility.

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We choose our responsibilities. story. 1. That it was Judas Iscariot who led the protest against the use of the perfume, and for se- Mary could have gotten the information about riously wrong motivation. The other disciples were what Christ said from her brother Lazarus, after fooled by his protest. 2. That Lazarus was present her hostess responsibilities were complete. at this event, the resuscitated man who was a per- Mary recognized that getting the information first fect backgrounder. 3. That the expensive perfume hand and face to face was a priority. was spikenard, from India. Very expensive indeed. Face to face is always better. Any other medium is 4. That the perfume’s scent filled the entire house. inferior and diluted. This was just two days before the cross. The scent :6-13 tells us of Mary’s anointing of would have still remained when Christ went to His Christ. “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the ordeal. People bathed much less often than we do home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him in the era of modern plumbing. with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and The sweet fragrance of the sacrifice of the Lamb she poured it upon His head as He reclined at the of God was literal, as well as spiritual, thanks to table. But the disciples were indignant when they Mary. saw this, and said, ‘Why this waste? For this per- fume might have been sold for a high price and the Mary, the mother of James Alphaeus money given to the poor.’ but Jesus, aware of this, She does not say anything, but Scripture records said to them, ‘Why do you bother the woman? For her as present at the cross and resurrection. Her she has done a good deed to Me. For the poor you husband is one of those who talked to the resur- have with you always; but you do not always have rected Christ one the road to Emmaus. Me. For when she poured this perfume upon My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I Mary, the mother of Our Lord. She is the greatest say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the of them all, faithful to her son to the very end. whole world, what this woman has done shall also Acts 1:14 makes it clear that the women were be spoken of in memory of her.’” present after the ascension. No doubt they played John 12:1-9 adds some important details to this an important role in the early church as well.

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